Any Other City
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Any Other City is the first and only studio album by the Scottish indie rock band Life Without Buildings, released on February 26, 2001 in the United Kingdom and 2002 in the United States.
Reception
Critical response
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The A.V. Club | (favorable) [2] |
| Drowned in Sound | (10/10) [3] |
| NME | (4/10) [4] |
| Splendid | (favorable) [5] |
| Pitchfork | (8.7/10) [6] |
| PopMatters | (9/10) [7] |
Matthew Willson of Drowned in Sound stated, "This album is a powerful reminder that the punk scene is still producing innovative and exciting new sounds."[3] Drawing comparisons to bands such as The Slits and LiLiPUT, Andy Kellman of Allmusic commented, "These female-fronted groups have certainly inspired LWB, but this quartet -- simply a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist, and a vocalist -- offers much more than nostalgia and post-punk plundering. They're more of a pop band, which is just fine."[1] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club noted the influences of Patti Smith and Sonic Youth, among others, stating that the songs "reduce the flavor and style of all of Life Without Buildings' influences—25 years of brainy girlpunk—and reproduce them on track after track," though he praised the group for their "great sound."[2]
Sue Tompkins' unique vocal style was singled out in multiple reviews. While John Mulvey of NME compared Tompkins' voice to "the scrape of fingernails on a blackboard," opining that "only mad people and immediate family could warm to Tompkins,"[4] other critics were more receptive. Jenn Sikes of Splendid praised Tompkins' vocals, stating, "The chewed word-bits are like little metronomes, counting beats between her fully-formed words, which are spoken/sung in a cheery Scottish accent that's childlike but fierce."[5] Kellman commented that "[h]er repet-pet-petitive repetitive style might be at odds with the ears of some listeners, but it's just as unique as the exuberant vocals"[1] employed by Tompkins' influences.
Rerelease 2014
The album was re-released to rave reviews for Record Store Day on 19 April 2014 on the What's Your Rupture label. The vinyl issue included a 7" featuring alternate versions of "The Leanover" and "New Town".
Accolades
Pitchfork Media placed Any Other City at number 128 on their list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.[8]
Track listing
- "PS Exclusive" - 4:16
- "Let's Get Out" - 3:57
- "Juno" - 5:07
- "The Leanover" - 5:24
- "Young Offenders" - 3:10
- "Philip" - 2:29
- "Envoys" - 4:08
- "14 Days" - 3:11
- "New Town" - 5:53
- "Sorrow" - 6:55
Personnel
- Life Without Buildings
- Sue Tompkins - vocals
- Robert Johnston - guitar
- Chris Evans - bass
- Will Bradley - drums
- Additional personnel
- Andy Miller - production, engineer
References
- ^ a b c Kellman, Andy. "Life Without Buildings - Any Other City - Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corp. Review. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
- ^ a b Murray, Noel (2002-03-29). "Life Without Buildings - Any Other City". The A.V. Club. The Onion Inc. Review. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
- ^ a b Willson, Matthew (2001-03-12). "Life Without Buildings - Any other city". Drowned in Sound. DrownedinSound.com. Review. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
- ^ a b Mulvey, John (2001-02-23). "Life Without Buildings : Any Other City". NME. IPC Media. Review. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
- ^ a b Sikes, Jenn (2002-02-28). "Life Without Buildings - Any Other City". Splendid. Splendid WebMedia. Review. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
- ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (2014-04-19) "Life Without Buildings - Another City" Pitchfork Media. Review. Retrieved 2014-04-19
- ^ Mathers, Ian (2014-04-27) "Life Without Buildings - Another City" PopMatters. Review. Retrieved 2014-12-08
- ^ Pitchfork (2009-09-29). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 150-101". Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork Media Inc. Retrieved 2012-09-02.